The best MTB trails around Ivry-Sur-Seine

Famous bridge in Paris that opens access to a legendary neighborhood.

**Highlight – Pont de l'Alma Paris** Pont de l'Alma is a famous bridge over the Seine in Paris and one of the places where you have a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower and the river. The bridge was opened in **1856** and is named after the Battle of the Alma during the Crimean War. On the bridge stands the famous statue of the **Zouave**, a soldier who was formerly used as a measuring point for the water level of the Seine. At high water levels, you could see how high the water was from the statue. Pont de l'Alma also became known due to the tragic accident in which **Princess Diana** died in 1997 in the nearby tunnel. Nowadays, it is mainly a busy place with beautiful views over Paris and the Seine.

From noble palace to parliament The Palais was built in the 18th century (from 1722) as a magnificent residence for a daughter of Louis XIV. During the French Revolution, it was expropriated and used for political assemblies for the first time at the end of the 18th century. Since then, it has been the heart of French democracy and today the seat of the National Assembly (Assemblée nationale). Architecture and appearance The facade: The striking front with the twelve large columns that you see from the Seine was only added under Napoleon. It was intended to give the building a powerful, antique appearance - matching the church of La Madeleine on the opposite side of the river. The plenary hall: Inside is the famous semicircular hall (Hémicycle), where the 577 members of parliament debate and pass laws. Special features inside The library: A real art highlight with huge ceiling paintings by Eugène Delacroix, which show the development of civilization. Free visits: You can visit the Palais today by appointment. It is a heavily guarded government building, so security checks and ID are required upon entry.

The Église de la Madeleine (also known as La Madeleine) is a Roman Catholic church in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, distinguished by its unusual architecture in the form of an ancient Greco-Roman temple. It is situated on the axis between the Place de la Concorde and the Palais Bourbon. A special feature: Beneath the church are the historic and magnificently restored Art Nouveau public restrooms (Lavatory Madeleine), considered a local attraction.

From a technical standpoint, it is actually two parallel steel bridges, connected only by the raised central strip and supported by a shared pier structure. Each bridge consists of two box girders, the height of which decreases from the pier towards the riverbanks. The current bridge was built between 1974 and 1976 according to the plans of engineers Jean François Coste and Ch. Blanc. The old Zouave of the Pont de l’Alma was then re-erected in front of the pier. It is a stone figure over 5 meters high, depicting the troops of Napoleon III in the Crimean War of 1853–1856. The Zouave figure served as an unofficial high-water mark for the local population, based on the saying, "When the Seine reached their feet, the riverbanks were closed; when it reached their hips..."

Winston Churchill had a close, if often complicated, relationship with Paris and France. Here is one of the most important points of reference regarding his work, his visits, and the commemoration of him—the statue in Paris: There is a remarkable bronze statue of Winston Churchill in Paris. It was created in 1998 by the sculptor Jean Cardot and stands near the Petit Palais on Avenue Winston Churchill in the 8th arrondissement. The statue depicts him in a pose based on a photograph taken on November 11, 1944, when he walked along the Champs-Élysées with Charles de Gaulle.

WE SHALL NEVER SURRENDER – we will never give up! – so it is carved in stone on the statue of Sir Winston Churchill. The bronze statue stands near the Petit Palais in the 8th arrondissement.

Bronze statue in Paris